1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk tray which is inserted into or ejected from a body of a disk player, for loading a disk into the disk player body. In particular, the present invention is directed to a disk tray with an improved structure for aligning a disk after it has been reproduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, as shown in FIG. 1, a disk player includes a disk player body 1 and a disk tray 10 installed movably along an ejection or inserting direction A1 or A2 relative to the disk player body 1. The disk tray 10 includes a first disk receiving portion 11 for receiving a first disk having a 12 cm diameter and a smaller, second disk receiving portion 12 for receiving a second disk having an 8 cm diameter. The second disk receiving portion 12 which has a center coinciding with a center C1 of the first disk receiving portion 11, is formed to be recessed from a bottom 11a of the first disk receiving portion 11. When the disk tray 10 is inserted to the disk player body 1, the first or second disk on the first or second disk receiving portion 11 or 12 is loaded into the disk player body 1.
For example, when the disk tray 10 having the second disk D2 arranged on the disk receiving portion 12 is inserted into the disk player body 1, a deck 2 in the disk player body 1 pivots upward with respect to a hinge 1a, from the position represented with a dashed line to the position represented with a solid line, in order to reproduce/play the second disk D2. Also, when the deck 2 pivots upward, a turntable 4 fixed to a rotation shaft of a spindle motor 3 connected to a free end of the deck rises, to thereby lift the second disk D2 on the disk tray 10, as represented with a solid line. At this time, a center of the turntable 4 coincides with the center C1 of the first and second disk receiving portions 11 and 12. As described above, after the second disk D2 is lifted by the turntable 4, information of the second disk D2 is reproduced/played.
To unload the second disk D2, the reproduction of the second disk D2 is stopped, and the deck 2 pivots downward, thus causing the turntable 4 to move downward. The second disk 10 is received on the second disk receiving portion 12 of the disk tray 10 according to the downward movement of the turntable 4, and then the disk tray 10 is ejected from the disk player body 1.
As the turntable 4 descends to place the second disk D2 on the second disk receiving portion 12 of the disk tray 10, the turntable 4 moves along a circular orbit centering around the hinge 1a by the deck 2 which pivots around the hinge 1a. Accordingly, the second disk D2 which is supported by the turntable 4 also descends along the circular orbit "R" around the hinge 1a as shown in FIG. 3. However, the turntable 4 and the second disk D2 are located above the hinge 1a so that during the downward movement the second disk slides slightly toward the ejection direction A1 of FIG. 1.
Thus, after the second disk D2 has been brought back to the second disk receiving portion, it is not aligned with its original placement as represented with the solid line and dashed line of FIG. 3. An edge "K" of the second disk (at the ejection direction A1) is caught by an edge "Z" of the second disk receiving portion 12 of the disk tray 10. At this time, the second disk D2 is not completely received on the second disk receiving portion 12. Thus, the second disk D2 deviates from the second disk receiving portion 12 when the disk tray 10 is ejected, to thereby cause noise or damage to the second disk D2.
With respect to the first disk, the first disk receiving portion 11 has a slope 11b formed along an edge (see FIG. 2). Thus, even though the first disk lifted by the turntable 4 descends along the circular orbit in the same manner as the second disk, it is caught by the slope 11b, so that the first disk is guided along the slope 11b to be completely received on the first disk receiving portion 11.
However, a similar structure is not easily provided for the second disk receiving portion 12. Specifically, it is difficult to increase the slope of the second disk receiving portion 12 due to design restrictions; if the second disk receiving portion 12 has a slope along its outer edge, the second disk D2 easily deviates from the second disk receiving portion 12 along the slope due to inertia caused by the insertion or ejection of the disk tray 10.